


we're just strangers

by statisticallysignificant



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: College AU, F/F, i'm going to leave this as a one-shot right now but i'll probably add on to this later, inspired by the new halsey song but with significantly less angst (hopefully), kara doesn't have any powers in this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-27
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-11-05 09:01:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11010225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/statisticallysignificant/pseuds/statisticallysignificant
Summary: they were just strangers (and that was supposed to make this easier), but it really doesn't. really, lena luthor is rather sure that there's no such thing as having JUST a one night stand with kara danvers.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> halsey's new song with lauren jauregui was something i never knew i needed until i heard it today and this is my response, supercorp edition

The first time they met was at a college party, a party in which Lena Luthor had no intention of going to originally. Really, she was perfectly content to spend her Saturday night holed up in her room finishing up her Biotechnology paper, if her roommate Jess hadn’t gotten in the way of her plans. _("You have to get out more,"_ Jess had begged of her, virtually dragging her from her desk and forcefully suggesting that she accompany her to a party Alex Danvers was hosting).

Lena, with a sigh and a roll of her eyes, had closed her laptop, promising that she’d at least check out the party (but with the full intention of leaving once she’d made an adequate attempt at “having fun”).

And that was exactly how Lena found herself in a black dress that showed way too much cleavage (because Jess had _argued_ that it’s also been too long since Lena’s had a specific type of fun),  surrounded by drunken idiots in an overly cramped house. It didn’t help that as soon as the two of them had arrived, Jess had been roped into some beer pong game with her boyfriend, which quite unfortunately led Lena alone as she was quite unwilling to be her roommate’s third wheel yet again. It also didn’t help that Lena literally knew no one at the party, besides Winn Schott, and yeah, while he was nice and an all-around solid Science Bro, he was also pre-occupied with James Olsen (Lena could swear there was something between the two of them).

Quite unfortunately, being a Luthor, particularly after her brother’s serial-murdering tendencies, was not exactly something that won her a lot of friends either. She figured that most of the student populace at this party could be categorized into two camps: 1) the ones that hated her and actively avoided her even when drunk and 2) the ones, who when drunk enough, wanted to fuck her in some dirty bathroom. And honestly, either party was not one that Lena wanted to interact with tonight.

At the sight of another kid stumbling passed her, barely able to get another step in before puking right in front of her, Lena was ready to leave. Not even the copious amounts of alcohol at the party could persuade her to stay. She was just about to hightail it out of the party and send Jess an apologetic text message that she “felt sick” when her heart literally stopped (when her life became a dramatic rom com, Lena Luthor did not know).

Lena swore that she just glimpsed what had to be the most beautiful girl she’d ever seen, dancing across the room. When the two made eye contact, Lena almost had a heart attack (and dammit, she also recognized that she was so screwed because she’d always been a sucker for pretty girls).

Swallowing, Lena took a deep breath, totally prepared to wash out the image of the dirty-blonde haired girl and leave, sure that some Orphan Black and biochemistry research would easily wash her out of her mind. Before she could do that, however, the girl walked over to her, and with a wide smile, introduced herself, “Hey, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around before, I’m Kara!”

(And _shit,_ she also had a pretty smile, and wow oh wow was she screwed now).

Attempting to hide any signs of emotional duress, Lena schooled her expression, “I’m Lena.” It was at this moment that Lena recognized that there was at least one good thing about being a Luthor: the fact that she was incredibly talented at hiding her emotions and pushing them below the surface. If there was one thing Lillian Luthor had taught her, it was to never show weakness, and right now, her Luthor lessons were the only thing preventing Lena from combusting right in front of Kara.

If Kara was dissuaded at Lena’s lack of enthusiasm, it didn’t show, as the girl remained as radiant and bright as ever (Lena felt like this girl represented a literal ray of sunshine, but then again, that’s just her scientific opinion). “It’s nice to meet you!” Kara grinned, “Can I get you a drink or something?”

Figuring that she’d need a lot more alcohol in her system to get through this interaction unscathed, Lena nodded. “That’d be great,” she responded, before noticing the glares she received from the drunks around her and adding on an afterthought, “I’ll come with you actually, if that’s okay with you.”

“Of course it is!” Kara exclaimed, taking Lena’s hand to lead her towards the kitchen (and if Lena’s heart began beating a little—okay, _a lot—_ faster, she pretended not to notice). “I’m guessing this normally isn’t your scene?” Kara asked, noticing the way Lena grimaced at the obviously intoxicated partiers.

“Is it that obvious?” Lena chucked, “But yeah, I’m normally someone who likes to stay in and get ahead of coursework on the weekends.”

“ _Nerd,_ ” Kara playfully responded, sticking her tongue out at Lena—an action that Lena found absolutely endearing, not childish like her mother certainly would have. Now in the kitchen, Kara raised an eyebrow, “So, nerd, what’s your drink of choice? We’ve got quite the selection here.” To prove her point, Kara gestured to the several bottles of alcohol on the kitchen counter.

“A beer’s fine,” Lena laughed, “So are you some wild party girl?” At her response, Kara handed her a beer and grabbed one for herself as well.

“No, not typically. This is just my sister’s party, so I was pretty much roped into coming,” Kara shrugged, taking a swig of the drink. Only then did Lena recognize that Kara was Kara _Danvers,_ Alex Danvers’ younger, adoptive sister, and the girl in Jess’s Communications class that her roommate constantly gushes about (“Kara’s literally the sweetest girl ever, even Professor Grant likes her!”). Lena can’t believe she didn’t see it sooner.

“Ah, so you’re the famous Kara Danvers Jess has been telling me about,” Lena remarked, with a teasing smile, before taking a long swing of her drink (liquid confidence and everything).

“Only good things, I hope,” Kara laughed, “But Jess is great! I think she originally hated me, but once I started bringing her coffee to the 8:00 lectures, she really came around.”

“That’s one way of making friends.” Only then did Lena notice just how close Kara had gotten, their hands still intertwined, and instead of moving back and detaching herself in Luthor fashion like she’d typically do, Lena only murmured contentedly (she’s blaming it on the alcohol, and certainly not on the charms of the other girl).

“Yeah, it really is,” Kara smiled, “Do you want to go up to my room? It’d probably be quieter.”

At Lena’s raised eyebrow, Kara realized what exactly she was insinuating, and her cheeks flushed a deep crimson. “I-I don’t mean it that way, just that you like, seem super cool and there’s just drunk people everywhere and excessively loud music that isn’t, you know, ideal for a conversation. But like—yeah I’m not like, propositioning you or anything. I’m so sorry, it really just like came out the—”

Lena could only laugh as Kara Danvers was reduced into a stumbling mess. Placing a hand on Kara’s forearm to calm the other girl, Lena took a step forward closer to Kara. Ghosting over Kara’s lips for a quick second, noticing the way the girl wetted her lips, Lena slowly whispered in Kara’s ear, “You know, I wouldn’t be opposed to that, either.” Internally, Lena blamed this sudden burst of courage on the alcohol, because hell, there would be no way that she’d typically suggest having a one night stand with someone she hardly knows, even if it was with someone as breathlessly pretty as Kara Danvers. But apparently, this Friday night just included terrible decisions, and Lena couldn’t even find herself caring when Kara smiled at her like that. At the very least, Lena found herself thinking that at least Jess would stop bothering her about the fact that she hasn’t gotten laid in the longest time.

At Lena’s sultry words, Kara turned an even deeper red, her eyes wide, squeaking out, “That would be cool also.”

* * *

 

The first thing Lena recognized when she groggily woke up was that she was decidedly not in her own room (this room had way too many pastels, bright posters, and stuffed animals to ever be her room). Her second realization was that she was rather naked (rather, in that she was completely naked) with another rather naked individual pressed into her back, an arm lazily around her waist and their legs intertwined.

And just like that, the events of the previous night surfaced, and Lena could only groan as she remembered the cheerful dirty-blonde she’d met the previous night—Kara, that was her name. That girl, Lena was certain, would be the death of her, and it would certainly be better to cut things off now before she got overly attached and distracted from her studies. After all, Lillian would certain disapprove of this… _escapade_ (it was easier to call it a momentary lapse of judgment than label it as something meaningful). Lena knew that this—whatever it was—definitely couldn’t happen again, and as the other girl didn’t have her number, last name, or really any identifying details, Lena figured she’d be in the clear, her life blissfully free from the other girl.

Determined to slip out before the other girl woke up, Lena carefully detached the girl’s arm from her body and creeped out of bed before searching for her clothes. Their clothes, Lena noticed, were carelessly strewn across the room, the two of them obviously eager to undress each other the previous night.

Once dressed, and with one last glance at Kara, now sprawled across the bed, clutching the sheets rather adorably ( _No, Lena, focus_ ), Lena left, fully prepared to take the walk of shame (and text Jess back before she issued a missing person’s alert).

* * *

 

The next time Lena sees Kara Danvers is no less than two hours since she’d left Kara’s room ( _Really? Of  course this is her luck)_. The two of them, both slightly hungover (apparently, the two of the them were both lightweights), had flocked to the campus’ best breakfast place known for its food being the best cure for a hangover.

And of course, Kara, being the sweet, friendly person that she is, innocently points at the seat across from Lena in her booth, “Is it okay if I sit?”

With a sigh, Lena nods. “Well, I can’t exactly stop you,” which isn’t exactly the most gracious invitation, but Kara doesn’t let that deter her from sitting right across from her.

“Funny that I’d see you here, huh? I guess great minds think alike—I swear, this place has the absolute best pancakes I’ve ever had,” Kara gushed.

Lena just nodded awkwardly, unsure what exactly to say (namely, whether or not she should address the fact that she’d virtually hightailed it out of Kara’s room in a steadfast panic). “Yeah, I love this place. Lex and I used to come here a lot.”

She hadn’t meant to let that slip out; her memories of Lex were always a sore subject—she hated remembering how kind he was to her, how he had made her feel like alone and stifled in the Luthor household. Lex, despite working at Luthor Corp on the other side of the continent, had always made time to visit Lena at university, and this place had been his favorite.

Expecting a disgusted expression at the mention of her brother, Lena was surprised when all she saw was sympathy on Kara’s face. “What happened to Lex was terrible.”

Lena could only nod numbly. “Yeah, it was,” she shrugged, attempting to appear as nonchalant as she possibly could, “Anyways, I’m sorry about this morning. It was pretty rude of me to just leave like that.”

If Kara noticed the quick subject change, she didn’t mention it. “It’s no problem. Last night was,” she paused, as if trying to find the right words, “Pretty awesome. Like you.” At that, Kara awkwardly laughs, as if she wasn’t supposed to have let that slip (Lena finds it endearing). “I really liked talking to you—“

“Among other things,” Lena quips, cutting Kara off, and noticing with a smug sort of pride the way Kara instantly blushed.

“Yeah, that too,” Kara nervously smiled, “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I know that that was supposed to be a one night stand or something but I would really, really like to see you again.”

“Aren’t you seeing me right now?” Lena teased, determined to bring across the façade that she was totally fine and that her heartbeat was not currently racing (this, at the very least, would buy her some time because hell, she didn’t know what the hell she was going to do or say now because there was really no way that she had enough self-control to tell Kara “no”).

“You know what I mean,” Kara rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t have to be high-pressure or anything. We could just be friends.”

Lena ignored how hollow the word “friend” made her feel, and frankly, Lena wasn’t sure if she could ever just settle with being friends with Kara after last night. But Lena pushed those thoughts down, because at least this way she’d have Kara in her life, and hell, they were virtually strangers anyways, weren’t they? They could definitely be friends (hopefully). “I would like that very much,” Lena smiled, ignoring the rational part of her head that was telling her that this was a very bad idea.

Friends. That totally wouldn’t be difficult (okay, maybe it would be when all Lena was thinking about right now was leaning over across the table and kissing Kara, but hey, things would get better. She was sure of it—she was Lena Luthor, after all).

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

The third time Lena sees Kara is at bar night, and this time, she was fully aware that Kara would be here too. Since the run-in at the diner, Kara had been texting Lena nonstop with animal photos, random facts, and “good mornings” and “goodnights.” Even Jess had noticed the fact that Lena was constantly on her phone, quickly formulating a response and typing (“ _Oooohhh, who’s that you’re texting? Any one I know?” “It’s no one, Jess” “Uh huh, sure”)._

Kara had been the one to suggest that Lena come to bar night with some of her other friends, and after a selfie with puppy dog eyes and an excessive amount of emojis, Lena couldn’t find it within her to say no (it was completely a bad idea but she rationalized that at least Kara’s friends would be there to serve as a buffer and prevent her from taking any drastic action that she’d regret the morning after). Besides, it was Wednesday night, and she’d already finished all her work _and_ Thursday’s work, so she might as well unwind a little.

So really, that was how Lena found herself in a red form-fitting dress, sitting next to Winn and James, across from Kara and Lucy as Alex not-so-subtlety tried to interrogate her. “So how do you two know each other?” Alex asked Lena suspiciously. It was pretty clear to Lena that Alex didn’t trust her by the way her eyes narrowed. Lena wasn’t sure what played a bigger role in Alex’s suspicion: the fact that she was a Luthor or the fact that Alex was just fiercely protective of her sister when it came to strangers.  

Lena wasn’t exactly sure how to answer this question, because it wasn’t like she could say that she and Kara fucked after meeting each other at her party a week ago. Luckily, before she could answer and accidentally let it slip, Kara answered for her. “She’s Jess’s roommate.” Which isn’t exactly a lie, because, after all, Lena is Jess’s roommate and technically they did meet through Jess and the fact that Jess had forced her to come to Alex’s party. So Lena simply nodded.

Seemingly, Alex was placated, and Lena, remembering that the best cure for an awkward situation was alcohol, excused herself from the table and offered to buy everyone a round of drinks. “I’ll come with you, you’ll probably need help carrying the drinks!” Kara offered, and Lena couldn’t help but remember Alex’s party where the roles were switched. What a sense of déjà vu.

Not trusting her voice, Lena simply nodded and Kara excitedly walked next to her towards the bar. “I’m really glad you came! I know that you’re going to get along great with my friends.” Lena can’t help but think this feels like a “friends, meet my girlfriend” type of situation, and not a “low-key hangout” like Kara had suggested, but it was too late to back out now.

“Seems like I’m getting along great with your sister,” Lena simply deadpanned.

At that Kara just sighed. “Don’t pay Alex any mind. She’s just fiercely protective ever since she suggested I give this fuckboy a chance, which obviously did not end up going so well. But she’ll come around.”

Before Lena could respond, the two of them were at the bar counter, and Kara quickly told the bartender the drinks they needed. Now waiting, Kara turned towards Lena, awkwardly shuffling as if she wasn’t sure how to break the uncomfortable silence between the two of them, “So what’s been new with you since, you know, the last time I saw you?”

Lena shrugged, “A lot of research and papers. Really, nothing exciting. What about you?”

“You know Professor Grant and how she owns Catco Media?” Lena nodded, “She offered me an internship with her over the summer!” Lena could swear that Kara’s body language could only be described as a happy puppy.

“That’s awesome, Kara!” Lena smiled, giving Kara a hug before remembering why _that_ and any sort of body contact was just a bad idea, “I’m so proud of you.” Despite the knowledge that touching Kara in any sort of capacity was a bad idea, Lena couldn’t find herself detaching, not when Kara’s body just felt so warm and so nice against her own (and shit, was she really screwed now). It seemed like Kara was also reluctant to let go, but luckily, before Lena said something she’d definitely later regret, the bartender awkwardly cleared his throat, obviously embarrassed that he’d interrupted a moment, “Your drinks are ready.”

At that, Lena cleared her throat and instantly let go of the taller girl. Grabbing a few drinks and letting Kara carry the rest, the two of them made their way back to the table, where it seemed like Winn and Alex were having a debate on who exactly was the best Star Wars character. “Oh my gosh, you guys are _nerds,_ just like Lena,” Kara teased, throwing her arms up in exasperation, “Here are your drinks though.”

“So Lena, make-or-break question here,” Alex said seriously with a dramatic pause, “Who’s your favorite Star Wars character?” At the question, Kara just shook her head, “I can’t believe you Alex.”

“Hmm, I’ve got to say Princess Leia, she was just so badass,” Lena remarked, watching as Alex’s expression turned into one of obvious approval.

“I like her, Kara,” Alex simply smugly responded. “See, Winn? Everyone knows that Princess Leia is the best character.”

“But _Han Solo,_ ” Winn passionately argued. Kara could only mutter, “How did I end up being friends with so many _nerds_?”

“There’s only one way to settle this,” Alex replied, with a serious, determined expression, “A pool match.”

“That’s no fair though! You’re literally the best pool player at this bar,” Winn whined, looking at Kara, James, and Lucy to take his side and suggest another way to settle the dispute.

Alex only dramatically sighed. “How about we do teams, then? I mean, I guarantee that I’d beat you either way.” And really, that was how Lena found herself spending her Wednesday night in some overly competitive pool match.

“Okay, okay, I can work with that,” Winn responded, nodding to himself. “If you’re so confident, I call James and Kara.”

If Alex was worried by the fact that she was stuck with Lena (whose knowledge of pool was extraordinarily limited as _pool_ wasn’t a topic her private tutors thought was necessary to cover), it didn’t show. “Whatever, I can beat you guys with any sort of team.” Lena didn’t think she should be so confident.

\---

Despite Alex’s earlier confidence, they were now down by a few balls (which was completely her and Lucy’s fault. Even if Alex sunk every shot she took, the fact that she had two rather inadequate pool amateurs was not very helpful when Winn, James, and Kara were all rather proficient at the game). It was now Kara’s turn and if she sunk the black ball, it would all be over (and what a great travesty if Winn continued believing that Hans Solo was the best Star Wars character). “Alright, Luthor,” Alex whispered, bringing Lena in a corner in which no one could hear or see them, “I’m going to need you to distract Kara somehow. Like, I wouldn’t cross out causing an explosion with your chemistry genius. I’d even provide the alcohol you’d need to do it.”

And if Lena resultantly “accidentally” dropped her cue stick just when Kara was about to shoot, purposely bending down in a way that put her ass directly in Kara’s line of sight, leading Kara to miss the ball entirely _(“What the hell was that?” Winn had yelled, clearly not noticing what exactly had been the cause of Kara’s distraction_ ), Alex didn’t say anything.

But she certainly kept that knowledge stored, because now, her suspicions that there was something between Kara and Lena were confirmed. But since Lena had done her job fantastically well, (even if Alex didn’t fully approve of her methods of doing so) Alex couldn’t exactly complain. For her own benefit, Alex pretended that she didn’t notice that later on in the evening, after her team had miraculously made a comeback and won, proving Princess Leia’s superiority, Lena had followed Kara into the bar’s bathroom. Even Lucy had noticed, whispering as Winn and James continued talking obliviously, “Hm, so Kara and Lena, that’s interesting.”

__

They were just strangers, trying out the whole “friends” thing, so maybe Lena should stop kissing Kara on the neck. But when Kara had whispered in her ear after Alex had won the pool game, “I am _really_ turned on right now,” Lena couldn’t exactly be responsible for her actions. _Of course_ , Lena had to whisper back, with a lip bite, “Bathroom. In five.”

Even worse, this time, she couldn’t even blame it on alcohol, as she’d hardly had two sips, convinced that with a clear head, she’d be able to prevent exactly this situation from happening (turns out, her self-control when it came to Kara was way weaker that what she’d anticipated).

And really, while a quick hookup in a rather dirty bar bathroom was not _ideal_ and something Lena never imagined herself doing, the worst part was that Lena didn’t find herself minding that much when it was with Kara Danvers. And if the two of them emerged from the bathroom, Lena with smeared lipstick and Kara with sex hair and a rather euphoric expression, no one mentioned anything (if Lena was thankful about anything, it would be this because she can’t imagine a more awkward conversation than Alex Danvers questioning what exactly the Luthor had been doing to her sister a mere fifteen yards away).

Later that evening, after downing a few glasses of alcohol in a vain attempt to forget what exactly had transpired with Kara, Lena whispered, ignoring Kara’s hand on her thighs, “Friends?” She ignored the pointed look Alex sent her from across the room, as if knowing what exactly the two were talking about.

“Yeah. Friends,” Kara responded, with a small sad smile. And yet again, in what had to be a worst case of déjà vu, Lena felt the hollowest feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah i couldn't just leave it at one chapter, i'll probably be adding more soon bc i can't really stand to leave things all angsty lol. feel free to prompt me in the comments or via my tumblr [@luthorings](http://luthorings.tumblr.com). also i'm looking for a beta to read over my writing before i post it and check for errors so if you're interested in that please hmu in the comments or on tumblr. thanks for reading and please let me what you think down in the comments!


	3. Chapter 3

The next time Lena sees Kara is at the “legendary” Danvers game night. After missing the last one due to a giant lab report, Lena was practically guilted into coming to this one. Even after telling Kara that she’s never played a board game—or really, any sort of game—besides chess and those strategy games Lillian forced her to play in her childhood, Kara was adamant that she come and be her partner (“ _Winn and James always partner up and since Lucy came back from her semester abroad and Mike and I broke up, I’m left partnerless,” Kara had pouted, and just like that, Lena found herself agreeing_ ).

Kara had also “lightly suggested” that Lena practice her board game, video game, and charade abilities because apparently, they took their game nights seriously. And if Jess found her searching on Google, “How to win at Monopoly” and “What is Mario Cart?” instead of doing her lab work, she didn’t say anything.

Most importantly, though, this time, Lena was confident that she’d able to control herself around Kara—after all, Luthors don’t make the same mistake twice (okay, technically it’s already happened twice, but it wouldn’t happen a third time, Lena was confident of that). They would act like friends only.

Which was a good plan in theory, but not exactly a viable plan in practice (really, no amount of testing and experimentation would help her understand her brain’s chemistry and actions around Kara). When Kara’s face scrunched up in confusion and deep thought as Lena tried to act a word out in charades, or when Kara would adorably gloat when Alex landed on a jail space in Monopoly, or when Kara would do a little victory dance when Lena and Kara both finished ahead of the others in Mario Kart, Lena just couldn’t be held responsible for her actions. It just wasn’t _fair._

After another successful Mario Kart race, Kara had declared a food break. “We make a pretty good team, don’t we,” Kara laughed, linking their arms together and swinging them contentedly after she’d virtually inhaled a few slices of pizza, “It was great seeing Alex almost combust when I hit her with the red shell and passed her.”

“Yeah, we totally make a great team,” Lena agreed, “So what’s the next game?”

At that, Winn had excitedly shouted, “SUPER SMASH BROS! YOU’RE ALL GOING DOWN!” Laughing at Winn’s enthusiastic answer, Kara simply nodded, “Yep, the last game of Game Night is always Super Smash Bros, and since we’re tied with Winn and James and one point ahead of Lucy and Alex, we’ve really got to bring our A game.”

Lena had never heard of this “Super Smash Bros,” and since Kara had never mentioned to her this exact game, she hadn’t researched the game, and thus had zero knowledge to adequately play this game. “Kara…” Lena whispered, looking around to make sure the other four couldn’t hear, “I have no clue what Super Smash Bros is.”

At Lena’s confession, Kara looked almost offended, and before Lena knew it, Kara was dragging her to her room (and Lena had to wash out the images of what exactly happened the last time they were in her room and by the way Kara was blushing, Lena was guessing Kara was having similar thoughts). “Okay, I brought you up here to discuss strategy without anyone hearing, not for… like, anything else,” Kara said, answering Lena’s unspoken question of why exactly they were in Kara’s room. “So, what do you mean you have no clue what Super Smash Bros is?”

“Exactly what you just said, really. I’m guessing a lot of smashing is done?” Lena smirked, internally kicking herself for including what definitely sounded like a sexual innuendo while also ignoring the hammering in her chest at the fact that Kara was still holding her hand, an almost subconscious reaction on her part, “In the Luthor household, there wasn’t, you know, at lot of time for games that weren’t purely educational. To be honest, I researched the other games.”

Kara’s eyes instantly softened, her hand now drawing circles on the back of Lena’s hands. “I’m sorry I didn’t realize that, and like pressured you to come. Oh golly, I feel awful, I’m such a terrible person.” Lena was hardly able to hold in a laugh when she realized that Kara had used the word “golly” in her word vomit.

“Kara, it’s fine,” Lena quickly amended, “I’m glad you invited me. It’s been a lot of fun. More fun than a research paper on quantum entanglement, that’s for sure.”

At that, Kara visibly perked up.  “I’m glad, all of my friends love you,” Kara shyly smiled, before adding with a smirk, “Even though we’re kicking their asses. Honestly, I never would’ve guessed you were a beginner if you hadn’t told me.” Lena can’t help but smile widely at that, glad that she’s found her group—after spending much of college alone besides the company of her roommate, she’s beyond relieved that the fact that she’s a Luthor hasn’t prevented her entirely from finding friends.

“This… means a lot to me,” Lena could only whisper, hoping to convey to Kara in her voice how thankful she was for this. Not just the fact that Kara had invited her to this game night, but the fact that Kara had made every effort to include her in her friend group. Like these weren’t just Kara’s friends, but her friends also.

“I know,” Kara only responded, understanding in her voice, “We should probably get back though, before they start making assumptions.” Kara awkwardly laughs, pushing her glasses higher on her nose, “Don’t worry, I’ll teach you how to play Super Smash Bros. We’ve totally got it.” Flashing Lena a dazzling smile, the two headed back down to the living room, still holding hands (and if anyone noticed this, they didn’t say anything, although Lucy and Alex certainly shared a knowing smile).

___

Lena Luthor was used to being good at things, and in the rare case she wasn’t initially good at something, she had always been a quick learner, picking it up in no time. Suffice to say, Lena Luthor was not used to failure.

Which is what made playing Super Smash Bros so difficult. Despite her best efforts and Kara’s passionate attempts teaching her how to play, it seemed like Lena was a lost cause. She was unbelievably terrible at the game, to the point where even _James_ made fun of her abilities.

Despite her failures and their resultant losses, Kara seemed unfazed, giving Lena an encouraging smile. “Don’t worry, Lena,” Kara comforted as Lena threw the controller done on the sofa, crossing her arms, after losing another match to James and Winn due to her inadequacies playing the game, “We can still make a comeback.”

Lena shot her a disbelieving look, “You’ve been watching me play, right?” Kara nodded, about to say something about Lena’s “improving abilities,” when Lena shot her a look, “I’m terrible. There’s no need to sugar coat it, babe.” Realizing the fact that she’d called Kara “babe,” Lena flushed a bright red, embarrassed that she’d let that slip. She hoped that Kara hadn’t noticed, but noticing the fact that Kara had also turned a bright red, her jaw slightly slack, Lena figured she had.

Composing herself, Kara protested, “You’re not terrible. We can still win this. Here, I’ll teach you the controls again.” Unlike last time, Kara hadn’t just pointed at the buttons and said what they did, but actually moved closer to Lena, so that their thighs were touched, and then wrapped her arms around Lena so that she and Lena both held her remote as Kara pressed each button to demonstrate what it did. Contrary to Kara’s intentions, Lena found that it was even harder to concentrate on Kara’s instructions when her body was so close, her hands wrapped around hers. “Got it?” Kara whispered, shaking Lena from her trance.

Lena could only nod, “Yeah I think I got it.”

(Which she didn’t in actuality, because the next match, she was once again pressing random buttons. And once again, they lost to Winn and James).

But when James and Winn had even tried to gloat and poke fun at Lena’s lack of skill, one heated glare from Kara shut them straight up.

“I’m sorry we lost game night because of me,” Lena said later on, when it was just her and Kara, the other four gone to get a “group project” done in the library (Lena suspected foul play, judging by the snickers she’d heard as they left and the fact that as far as she was aware, the four didn’t share any classes together).

“It doesn’t matter, I’m just glad you came,” Kara replied, a bright smile still on her face, “There’s always next time, right?” Behind her words, Lena heard Kara’s hope that there _would_ be a next time. And despite knowing that getting attached was a very bad idea, Lena found herself nodding, “Of course, if you’d have me. But you’d probably be better off with another partner if you want a chance of winning one of these ever again.”

The blonde simply laughed, “Another partner isn’t you, though.” Never used to being someone’s first choice, Lena couldn’t help but feel a wave of affection for the other girl. “You truly are something, Kara Danvers.”

“As are you, Lena Luthor,” Kara simply replied, with an adorable squint in her eyes.

A comfortable silence fell between them, the two girls close together on the couch, Kara’s arm around Lena’s shoulders, and Lena leaning in closer to Kara (which was totally platonic, thank you very much). “It’s getting late, I should leave,” Lena sighed, not exactly wanting to leave but also knowing that if she stayed this close to Kara, something was bound to happen. And they were just friends—something Lena had been adamant on and now wasn’t the time to back out on that.

“No, stay,” Kara quickly responded. At Lena’s questioning look, Kara elaborated, “Not to… do anything, but like you said, it’s getting late. It’s not safe for you to go across campus to your dorm.”

Lena was about to protest (because she’d walked across campus several times late at night after finishing up some research in the lab and it’s been fine), but at Kara’s determined look, Lena just nods. “Thanks. I can take the couch. I’d hate to be more of a bother.”

“You’d never be a bother,” Kara answered honestly, “And I can take the couch, you can take the bed.”

“I’m not pushing you out of your own bed,” Lena protested, knowing that it was probably in vain given the blonde’s resolute expression. “We could always share it if you’re okay with that.” Clarifying, Lena quickly added, “In a totally platonic, friendly way, of course. Friends share beds right?” (Although truthfully Lena didn’t know. She’s never had good enough friends to be in this situation).

“Yeah, of course,” Kara responded, and if she was taken aback, it didn’t show, “We can definitely do that. Totally platonically. Yes. That’s possible. Platonic snuggling, totally achievable.” At Kara’s excessive elaboration that really only highlighted Kara’s doubt, Lena couldn’t help but laugh, pressing a soft kiss on Kara’s forehead as a reflex more than anything else (which probably wasn’t the best idea, but it’s nothing new that her self-control suddenly disappeared around Kara), “Thanks for your vote of faith.”

Kara just shook her head exasperated, “Okay, okay, I’m sorry. But fine, _friend,_ let’s go to bed.”

And if the two woke up, limbs tangled together and Kara’s face snuggled into Lena’s chest, neither girl mentioned just how markedly non-platonic it felt. If Kara had whispered “Five more minutes, and then I’ll cook you breakfast” at least ten times to keep Lena in bed with her just for a little longer, neither girl mentioned it. If Kara cooked them breakfast an hour later later, in a scanty tanktop and no pants on, neither girl mentioned how domestic it all felt.

Lena was just trying to tell herself that _this—_ whatever it was—was totally platonic, and perhaps if she was totally delusional, she’d believe it. Perhaps even more worrying, though, was that as unaccustomed to failure as Lena was, she found herself not minding at all if her next failure was her self-control around Kara.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm leaving this at 3 chapters even though i fully know that i'm going to add more to this if i can find the motivation because i can't leave anything at a semi-angsty ending. anyways, thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think down in the comments! idk if it's just me but whenever i'm writing i feel like my writing isn't total shit but then when i re-read it i realize what trash it actually is 
> 
> anyways, come find me on tumblr at [@luthorings](http://luthorings.tumblr.com)


	4. Chapter 4

The fifth time Lena sees Kara, the blonde accidentally spills coffee all over her shirt. Kara, having started her internship at Catco, had been precariously clutching two cups of coffee and a bag of pastries while also talking onto the phone and rushing down the street (Ms. Grant liked her coffee a certain temperature, and for the last four days, Kara’s been scolded for the fact that her coffee wasn’t her perfect temperature, sorry Mrs. Grant, but not everyone has _heat vision_ ). So really, it was a recipe disaster. Cue in Lena, obliviously simultaneously answering emails while walking, directly in the path of Kara, and yeah, before you knew it, Kara’s perfect-temperature coffee was strewn on Lena’s nice white blouse.

Any other person, Lena certainly would’ve blew her top (“ _Do you understand how much this shirt costs? Holy hell, you need to watch where you’re going”_ ). When she noticed it was Kara, she merely blushed—god, was she whipped (as Jess would put it). “I’m so sorry,” Kara squeaked out, eyes wide in mortification. Lena couldn’t help but feel a little bad—not for her nice shirt that was ruined, but more so for the fact that now Kara was going to be late to work, no coffee in hand, only to face the wrath that was Cat Grant.

“Don’t worry about it,” Lena only smiled, “I feel bad, I wasn’t looking where I was going and I was totally in your way.”

“Nope, it was totally my fault. I was juggling way too many things,” Kara laughed, blushing a deep red. Noticing the massive brown stain now on Lena’s white shirt, Kara facepalmed, “And that looks like a very nice shirt, and I will absolutely pay for it.”

In response, Lena only feigned laughter, “Oh no? This old thing? I got it from… Goodwill, yes. So don’t worry about it.” (It was actually a $500 designer shirt her mother had bought for her, but Kara really didn’t need to know that).

Kara only narrowed her eyes in suspicion, clearly not buying the fact that Lena Luthor, the heiress to the richest family in National City, shops at Goodwill, but thankfully, decides not to question it. “Sure, it is,” Kara rolls her eyes, “Still, let me make it up to you. Brunch Sunday?”

Lena finds herself agreeing, even though she’s well aware that seeing Kara when it was just the two of them alone was, simply put, not the most brilliant idea. And if Kara’s invitation feels way more like a date, then a platonic hangout, Lena pretends not to notice. “Only if I can choose the place,” Lena replies smoothly, not revealing any of her inner turmoil.

“Okay, but _absolutely_ no kale,” Kara pouts a little, and Lena finds it rather adorable. Clearly, Kara was not going to let go of the fact that the last time they ate together at the diner, Lena had suggested kale smoothies as the perfect hangover cure (by the way Kara had puked after that, totally unrelated to the alcohol consumed last night, Lena had figured that Kara would never wanted to talk to her again after that “crime against humans” drink).

With a dramatic sigh, Lena agreed. “Okay, fine,” and then the two idiots were just staring at each other (Jess would call it the gay-ze, but good thing she’s not here, Lena can only imagine the amount of teasing she’d receive), until Lena blushes a little and clears her throat, “I should let you leave before Ms. Grant starts to worry.”

Kara nods, suddenly snapping back to the real world and realizing that if she didn’t get a move on, she was going to be late to work. “Yes, yes. I should do that. It was nice running into you though, and I can’t wait to see you Sunday. Text me the details, love you!” With a quick kiss on the cheek, Kara sprinted back in the direction of the coffee shop to grab a new coffee, leaving Lena, standing in the middle of a busy sidewalk, dazed, still in shock over the fact that Kara had kissed her on the cheek and told her “love you” as if it was something as normal as discussing the weather.

___

So maybe Lena was freaking out a little bit too much about where to take Kara for brunch ( _Why in the world did she want to choose the place?_ ). It didn’t help that literally all the places Lena eats at are overly healthy, with menus boasting of ingredients like kale, quinoa, and chia seeds, and given Kara’s affinity to pizza, sticky buns, and potstickers and deep hatred of all healthy food, Lena wasn’t exactly sure where she should take Kara. Plus, there was the fact that Kara was adamant that she be the one to pay for the meal, and literally all the places she knew of were not exactly places that Kara could afford on her internship stipend. In her panic, she had even bothered Winn and Jess, sending them urgent text messages in their “Science Bros” group chat (Winn had created the name):

**_[Lena Luthor 7:22am]:_ ** _help guys I’m panicking. where do I take kara for brunch_

**_[Jess  7:23am]:_ ** _i can’t believe you woke me up for this don’t you realize it’s a Sunday morning_

**_[Lena Luthor 7:23am]:_ ** _please, jess, we’re roommates. I know you were already up before this message_

**_[Winn Schott 7:24am]:_ ** _she’d literally like any place you took her. like she’d probably eat kale for you with a smile on her face if you took her to that healthy organic place you like._

**_[Lena Luthor 7:25am]:_ ** _ugh you guys are no help_

**_[Jess 7:25am]:_ ** _sorry lena but you’re on your own. have fun on your date though :)_

**_[Lena Luthor 7:25am]:_ ** _…_

**_[Lena Luthor 7:25am]:_ ** _it’s not a date_

Slamming her phone down in frustration, Lena decided that she would take Kara to that new donut place she’s been talking about wanting to go to. It was fine. Lena could totally ingest fatty, sugary donuts for Kara Danvers.

___

“So what cool science things have you been up to?” Kara asked, her cheeks puffy from the donut she had stuffed in her face. When Lena had told her that they’d be going to the new donut place, Kara had cheered and given Lena a tight hug, sighing, “Oh my gosh, I love you.” And honestly, thirty minutes later, Lena still hadn’t recovered, even with the knowledge that friends can say “I love you” all the time in a completely platonic way and that Kara, by nature, was just an extraordinarily tactile person. It didn’t mean anything.

Lena just smiled, breaking a piece of her donut with her fingers (when she’d first done that, Kara had almost looked offended: _“Lena, this is worse that the time you used a knife and fork to eat pizza”_ ), “I’ve been prototyping a lot of cool technology at L-Corp. I’m currently playing around with creating a portal that would make it possible to transport aid to poverty-stricken instantaneous.”

“Oh my gosh you’re amazing,” Kara simply replied, an expression of awe on her face, “I swear, you’re going to end up, like, ruling the world or something.”

“Thanks, Kara,” Lena simply blushed, still not used to compliments or words of praise, “How’s your internship with Cat Grant going?”

Kara slouched a little at the question. “I mean, it’s not going bad and she hasn’t fired me yet, so that’s got to be a good sign, right? But it’s been pretty difficult being her assistant.”

Lena had to restrain herself from using her connections to obtain Cat Grant’s personal details to just “talk” about the way she’s been treating the blonde. At Lena’s slightly murderous expression, Kara quickly adds, “But it’s all okay. She said that if I keep it up, I’ll have a job after graduation as a reporter!”

“That’s awesome!” Lena congratulated, “When that happens, we’ll certainly go out for celebratory drinks.” Because that’s totally what a friend would do (although honestly, Lena wasn’t so sure, she’s never really any had friends, and she has the feeling that the Wiki article she read titled, “Friends 101” was not the most accurate and trustworthy source of information).

“I would love that,” Kara smiled brightly and then the two of them are just staring at each other, wide grins on their faces. However, before either girl is given the chance to say something to break the contented silence that had fell between them, another university students comes up to them, pressing a kiss to Kara’s cheek, “Hey, Kara!”

At Kara’s look of panic and disgust, Lena decides instantly that she does not like him. “Um, excuse me but who are you?” Lena asked in a pointed manner, giving him the glare she’s practiced (talking to white men twice or three times her age who think they know better than her has, at the very least, taught her that very valuable lesson).

“Oh, I’m Mike,” the man replied, as if she should definitely know who he is, before narrowing his eyes at her suspiciously, “And who are you? I’ve never seen you with Kara before.” Mike tried to puff his chest a little and look threatening, but it really doesn’t work. Lena supposed that if she’d never faced off with a man twice his size trying to defund her project, she might be a tad intimidated, but alas, she has and Mike just seems like a joke. By the frustrated look on Kara’s face, Lena figured that this must be that fuckboy that Kara was talking about earlier, and the fact alone that these two used to date makes her blood boil (she’s totally not jealous though, because “Friends 101” certainly didn’t say that being jealous of ex-girlfriends and ex-boyfriends was a characteristic of good friends).

Lena was just about to respond when Kara, previously frozen, responds nonchalantly, “Oh, she’s my girlfriend.” At the pleading look Kara shot her, Lena resolved that she’ll go along with it. Really, she would do anything to protect Kara, and if it meant pretending that they’re in a relationship, then Lena’s sure that she can ignore her feelings for Kara and play along.

However, Mike doesn’t seem to buy it. “You’re kidding me, right? One, we’re still dating, and two, you’re definitely not gay.” The smug smile plastered across his face just gave Lena the uncontrollable urge to punch him. Which she was thankfully (or not so thankfully, depending on how you look at it) able to control with her years of Luthor training.

“I’m going to ask you to leave,” Lena responds calmly in a voice that she knew was absolutely terrifying. “You and Kara,” Lena gestured to the two of them, “are not a thing anymore, so I _highly_ suggest that you leave Kara and I alone and learn to respect women.”

To Lena’s great satisfaction, Mike visibly winced. However, it looked like Lean underestimates his determination when he once again opens his ugly mouth, “It’s a thing as long as I say it’s a thing. Kara just doesn’t know what’s best for her.”

At those words, Lena thinks, “Screw it,” and without giving it another thought, decks Mike right in the face, the force of the impact throwing him down onto the floor, “Before I _completely_ beat your ass, I’m going to give you another opportunity to leave.” In that moment, she’s never been so thankful that the Luthor education also included self-defense classes.

Mike, picking himself off the floor and wiping the blood from nose, quickly backed away from their table in a panic, “You… are batshit crazy,” he spluttered out, and at Lena’s pointed look, he quickly adds, “Whatever, I’ll leave you two alone. It’s not worth it.” With that, Mike pretty much sprinted out of the donut place, clutching his nose with his hands, in obvious pain.

As soon as Mike leaves, Kara takes her hand and softly murmurs, “Thanks for doing that, it means a lot. Mike’s… just my kryptonite, and I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”

Lena melts a little at the soft look in Kara’s blue eyes, “Of course, Kara. What are friends for?”

“Yeah, friends,” Kara just says in reply, her voice hollow and a distant look in her eyes. Clearly wanting to change the subject and forget about Mike, Kara clears her throat, “Anyways, Alex is hosting another party on Friday just for close friends. It’s going to be a really casual, no-pressure type of thing, and I was kind of hoping you’d come? You can bring anyone you’d like.”

Lena tries not to remember what exactly happened the last time she went to one of Alex’s party (but fails rather miserably), but she still manages to string together a coherent sentence. “Yeah, of course. I’d love to come. Thanks for the invite.”

With a teasing smile, Kara just reiterates her earlier words, “What are friends for?”

And Lena can’t help but think that she’s never had friends—or family, for that matter—like Kara Danvers before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've finally decided that this will be six chapters, so you can expect like two more chapters after this one unless anything changes. lol of course something i expected would just be a chapter turns into a full-blown mini fic whoops. thanks so much for reading and please let me know what you think in the comments!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> s/o to queenrinacat for the idea!

The next time Lena sees Kara is only a few hours later. Lena, working on a double major, decided to take a few classes over the summer in the time she wasn't interning at L-Corp. Kara, having switched her major too many times, was also taking a few classes over the summer while interning at Catco just to ensure that she fulfills all her class prerequisites. And maybe Lena had purposely signed up for Writing in the Media at the same time as Kara (she was trying to convince herself it was just because she had to complete a writing elective, not that the mere fact Kara was taking it was the reason she signed up).

 

Mid-terms were creeping up, and while Lena had always been more of an independent studier, when Kara suggested that Lena join their study group with her, Winn, James, Alex, and Lucy, Lena found herself agreeing. She had been surprised to hear that the rest of the group was also taking summer classes, but apparently they were either working on a second major, trying to graduate a semester early, or roped into it.

 

So that's how Lena found herself in a near empty library, sitting right beside Kara in a large circular table (again, she tried to justify this as they were both studying for Writing in the Media mid-term; she was ignoring the fact that they both had near 100s in the class).

 

It really didn't take long for them to get sidetracked. Really, as soon as Lena had opened up her textbook, Kara had snickered at her, “ _Nerd,_ ” Kara teased.

 

“Hm, but I thought this was a study session though, isn't studying the point?” Lena teased, an eyebrow arched, before winking at her direction.

 

Kara suddenly found her throat go dry, a fact that quite unfortunately did not go unnoticed by the rest of the group, judging by the laughs disguised as coughs. “I guess it is,” Kara finally managed to stammer out, before attempting to regain some semblance of her self-dignity, “But since you're such a rule-follower, why aren't you following the biggest rule of the library?” With a triumphant smirk, Kara points to the “NO TALKING” sign on a bookcase near their study space.

 

“Oh, believe me, there are other ways to make a noise besides talking,” Lena smoothly responds, before realizing just how sexual that sounded, especially to someone she was trying to be _just friends_ with. Gosh, maybe Jess was right when she said that she literally flirts 24/7. She really needed to have a stronger filter, especially when it came to Kara.

 

At Lena's words, Kara just flushes a bright red, but before she can stammer out another flustered response, Alex scowls, “Some of us are actually trying to study. So if you guys could kindly stop with your awful flirting and shut up, that would be greatly appreciated.”

 

This time, Kara isn't the only one that turns bright red. As well composed as Lena typically is, nothing in her life has really prepared her for this type of situation (not to mention, Lena was just a little offended that Alex called her flirting awful-- she was rather certain that she was a top-notch flirter, thank you very much). Kara just mumbles out a quiet, “Sorry, Alex,” and throughout the entire exchange, James, Winn, and Lucy look like they're out to burst out in laughter. Ignoring them, Lena reverts her attention back to her book and notices that Kara also gets out her book, her brow scrunched up as she concentrated.

 

And then the Lip Bite Catastrophe of 2k17 happened, and Lena could only watch in captured attention as Kara bit her lip while studying, her eyes scanning the textbook ( _goddammit, Lena, why are you so weak?)._ Maybe she was staring a little bit too much, because she could feel Alex glaring at her from across the table. She tried to redirect her attention back down to her textbook, but really, watching Kara was just way more enrapturing and it wasn't long before her eyes were back on Kara (gosh, she sounds like such a creep too).

 

It took a while for Kara to notice Lena's eyes on her, but when she finally did, she leaned in close to Lena and whispered, “Is there something on my face?”

 

Lena raced through her mind to come up with a decent excuse that didn't make her sound like a complete creep. “Uh,” she began, for the first time lost for words (she's faced board rooms and Lillian Luthor, but of course it's a pretty girl that makes her lose her complete cool), “I, uh, was just looking at the sign behind you. It's really interesting.”

 

Kara, noticing that the sign Lena was referring to was just a white piece of paper with the words, “NO FOOD IN THE LIBRARY” in red text and a good ten feet to the right of her, merely hummed her lips in doubt. “Sure, Lena,” she rolled her eyes.

 

In that moment, Lena cursed Kara for getting her so flustered; honestly, it just wasn't fair. She blamed this for her next thoughts: complete payback. Determined to make the blonde just as flustered as Lena, she placed her hand on Kara's knee. At Kara's slightly slack jaw and shocked expression, Lena simply smiled innocently. “Something wrong?” she whispered in a sultry voice in Kara's ear.

 

Kara cleared her throat, “Uh, nope! Everything is just peachy, everything's great, yeah.” Which probably would have been a lot more believable if Kara wasn't looking incredibly pained.

 

Lena could probably blame what she did next on the boring textbook she didn’t want to read anymore, but it didn’t change the fact that her actions were incredibly non-platonic. As soon as Kara giggled nervously and reverted her attention back to the textbook, Lena started tracing circles with her fingers on Kara's knee before her hand moved higher and higher until it rested on Kara's upper thigh. Lena couldn't help the smug look of satisfaction as Kara got unbelievably red, her breathing labored. “What are you doing, Lena?” she managed to choke out, trying to concentrate on her textbook but very clearly failing.

 

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Lena smirked, while keeping her hand on Kara's upper thigh.

 

With a frustrated sigh, Kara seemed to weigh her choices. Closing her book loudly, Kara sighed before announcing to the group, “You know, I'm feeling really tired. I think I'm going to go back to my dorm and sleep.” Lena couldn't help the triumphant grin.

 

Alex merely stared at Kara in disbelief, checking the time on her phone. “Kara, it's literally 7:30 pm and you had like, three cups of coffee before this to, in your words, ‘pull an all-nighter.’”

 

Kara at least had the decency to look ashamed. “Uh, coffee has the effect of making me feel sleepier?” Kara justified, although it sounded a lot more like an ashamed question rather than a statement, “Plus, you know what they say-- a good night's rest means a good score!”

 

At Kara's flimsy excuse, even Winn laughs, staring at Kara in disbelief. “I don't think _anyone_ says that, like, who did you hear that from?”

 

Instead of answering his question or facing the doubtful stares of everyone besides Lena (Lena just looked incredibly self-satisfied, really), Kara just laughs awkwardly and avoids the question. “Anyways, I've really got to go. It was nice studying with all of you.” As Kara hurriedly begins stuffing papers and her textbook into her backpack, Lena decides to follow, quite aware of how bad of a decision this was. “You know, I agree with Kara. I'm going to go as well, but it's been delightful to study with all of you. Thanks for the invite!”

 

With Lena scrambling to leave also, Lucy mutters, “Well, that explains it.” Alex, on the other hand, just looks murderous (Lena is honestly surprised that Alex didn't launch herself towards her, she really wouldn’t blame her).

 

Following Kara out, Lena suggests, as soon as they’re out of earshot, “It’s getting a little dark and it’s probably unsafe for you to walk alone, so I can walk you back.” Lena doesn’t mention that it’s barely dark or the fact that her apartment is in the opposite direction of Kara’s.

 

Kara nods happily, “That would be great. Thanks, Lena!” When Kara intertwines their fingers together, swinging their arms back and forth in contentment, Lena doesn’t say anything (she figures that this hyper behavior might be a direct result of Kara’s apparent consumption of three cups of coffee).  

 

There isn’t a quiet moment on their walk back, with Kara, nearly bouncing up and down, pointing to a cute dog she spots or one of her favorite places to eat ( _“This restaurant literally has the best potstickers, like, I would literally sell out Winn for a plate of them.” “Would you sell out me for a plate?” Lena teased in response. Kara thinks about it for a second, “Well, no,” and at Lena’s self-satisfied expression, Kara adds, “But only because you could probably buy me way more.”_ ). Walking Kara back to her place, holding her hand, made it exceptionally easy for Lena to pretend that this wasn’t just _platonic,_ but something more. Almost instantly, she cursed herself for thinking that—for _wishing_ for more—but the fantasy really couldn’t have been prevented.

 

When they finally get to Kara’s place, Lena can’t help but feel a little sad that her night with the blonde would be cut short. Before she hastily leaves, Kara whispers conspiratorially to her, “So are you actually planning on sleeping right now? Because I have an insane amount of caffeine in my system right now, and I don’t know if you could tell, but I was totally lying to Alex. Coffee doesn’t make me sleepier, and I honestly don’t think I’ll be physically capable of sleeping for another like, six hours.”

 

Lena merely laughs, “Nope, I honestly don’t think it’s possible to go to bed at 7:30 as a college student.” She tried to appear as nonchalant as possible (internally, however, her heart was racing, but Kara didn’t need to know that). “Got something in mind?”

 

Kara stares at her feet, as if a little reluctant to ask. Seemingly mustering up her courage, Kara suggests, “Well, I mean, you could come in if you’d like?”

 

“I don’t know if that’s the best idea,” Lena admitted, instantly regretting her answer at the way Kara visibly deflated.

 

When Kara started to pout, Lena knew that she would practically agree to anything (in fact, she figured that she would happily let Kara sell her out for some potstickers if she gave her this same look). “Aw come on,” Kara pleaded, using her puppy dog eyes, “We could study for the Writing in the Media midterm together, and I have leftover pizza left. It could be a sleepover!” (Lena was about to mention that she’d never had a sleepover and possibly inquire what was done at one, but at Kara’s excited nature, she stopped herself).

 

Lena was well-aware that this was a terrible idea, but once again, she found herself tearing down her walls for Kara. “Okay, okay, fine.” Lena acquiesced, watching Kara instantly brighten and let out an excited squeal (Lena couldn’t help but feel butterflies at the knowledge that Kara wanted to spend time with her, that she always felt like Kara’s first choice around her).

 

“Yes, oh my gosh, this is going to be so much fun!” Kara widely smiled, taking Lena’s hand to direct her to her room. As soon as they reached her room, Kara heated up half a pizza and made two glasses of hot chocolate, while Lena took this opportunity to explore Kara’s room, noting the many photos she posed for next to Alex, Winn, James, and Lucy. Her jaw dropped when she realized that right next to a photo of all five of them, was a photo of her and Kara on the couch from Game Night. In the photo, Kara’s arm was around hers as she tried to teach her how to play Super Smash Bros; both girls were smiling, staring at each other with adoration. Lena was completely unaware that this photo was taken, but judging how James always seemed to have his camera around, she shouldn’t have been surprised.

 

“What’re you looking at?” Kara asked, walking up to her, balancing two mugs and a box of pizza. Realizing what Lena was looking at, Kara blushed, “It’s a photo James took at Game Night because he found it funny how bad you were at Super Smash Bros, and since we tragically didn’t have any other photos together, I decided to use it. I hope it’s okay?”

 

“Of course it is,” Lena just softly responded, taking the offered mug, “Thanks.” Lena wasn’t sure what exactly she was thankful for in the current moment: the hot chocolate or Kara’s unwavering friendship.

 

Kara seemed to understand, as she nodded, “Anything for you.” When Lena finally tore her eyes away from the photo and just saw Kara, her eyes soft, biting her lip, Lena couldn’t stop herself from leaning closer to Kara, her lips centimeters away from Kara’s. With a soft sigh and a wide grin, Kara closed the distance, and then they were kissing, their lips perfectly molded against each other.

 

Lena noted with satisfaction that the pizza box dropped from Kara’s hands (it was quite an achievement that she had priority over food, perhaps she shouldn’t ever be expected to be sold out for potstickers), and Lena, in an effort to prevent the two mugs from dropping and smashing, grabbed both of them, placing them on a nearby table, their lips still touching. She knew that corporate multi-tasking could be applicable in daily life as well. “Bedroom?” Lena moaned, managing to tear her lips away momentarily from Kara’s, her pupils dilated with desire. Kara simply nodded, unable to form words, and just like that, they stumbled into Kara’s room, Kara’s shirt half-buttoned and Lena’s shirt torn in half.

 

The logical side of Lena knew this was a bad idea, but that didn’t stop either of them from forgetting all plans of studying and falling back into the same cycle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and thanks fo reading! there will be probably be just one more chapter after this one. like always, please tell me what you thought in the comments and come find me on tumblr [@luthorings](http://luthorings.tumblr.com)


	6. Chapter 6

At this point, Lena’s lost count of how many times she’s run into Kara. Since their “study session” on Sunday, they’ve virtually seen each other at least once a day, with Kara oftentimes stopping in at L-Corp with food to make sure Lena eats ( _“At least by bringing food, I can ensure that you actually eat something.”_ ). And sometimes Lena stops by at Catco with no good of a reason besides the fact that she just wants to see the blonde. Other times she brings potstickers and just seeing Kara’s bright smile makes it well worth the trip. The one time she visits and Snapper Carr yells at Kara for bumping into him, Lena sends him a glare that makes him instantly apologize to Kara.

Lena isn’t proud of it, but once she also realized where Kara bought Ms. Grant’s coffee and pastries in the morning, she’s also been going to the same coffee shop, and if they just so happen to go at the same time and run into each other, it isn’t intentional at the very least (okay, maybe it is). Likewise, when Kara starts going to the organic juice shop where Lena gets her 3pm kale smoothies at, Lena suspects foul play, particularly when Kara says, “I love this place!” while simultaneously gagging as she drank her kale smoothie. Kara saying she likes kale smoothies while tears form in her eyes is not overly believable, but Lena doesn’t comment about it because at least Kara’s getting her vegetables and fruits in this way (plus, Lena couldn’t ever say no to Kara’s company).

Yet in each of their interactions, they skirt around the topic they both know they should talk about. Neither girl mentions what happened after studying at the library; Lena is relatively sure that Kara wants to talk about it, waiting for Lena to initiate the conversation, but Lena honestly can’t think of anything more mortifying. Lena Luthor totally wasn’t a coward, but she just found it much easier to avoid the situation and pretend that she and Kara are just bestfriends (Jess calls them gal pals, but she refuses to accept that term in association with her relationship with Kara).

Soon enough, it’s Friday and Lena’s having a minor breakdown over Alex’s party, because that means she’s seeing Kara again and the last time she saw Kara at Alex’s party, there were some… questionable decisions being made. It also didn’t help that her number of days since sleeping with Kara Danvers was exceptionally low. And Lena would really like to prevent blurring the lines between friend and lover even more.

After freaking over about what to wear with Jess ( _“Calm down, I’m sure Kara Danvers would still talk to you even if you were in a trash bag.”_ ). How Jess seemed to know there was something between her and Kara Danvers, Lena did not know. She had been determined to get Jess to go with her to the party, needing some sort of buffer to prevent her from making any sort of decision she’d later regret, but Jess was working late for her internship, leaving her to go to the party alone.

Wearing a black, form-fitting dress, paired with deep red lipstick and her red heels, Lena finally feels ready. “You’ve dealt with misogynistic investors and Lillian freaking Luthor. You can definitely do this,” she says to herself as a pep talk as she’s walking up to the Danvers’ house.

She realizes the she, in fact, cannot do this when she and Kara make eye contact from across the room. And with a sharp feeling of déjà vu, Lena is about two seconds from ditching the party and texting Kara that she felt “sick,” but before she can do it, Kara comes over to Lena, embracing her into a tight hug. “Lena! I’m so glad you came.”

Lena quickly composes herself, determined to not show any sign of distress, especially at the sight of Kara in a tight black dress that showed off her muscular build ( _Stop drooling, Lena, friends don’t do that_ ). “It’s great to be here,” Lena simply replies, returning Kara’s hug.

At the beginning of their friendship, she was thrown off by how tactile of a person Kara was—really, the only type of contact that she’s ever been comfortable with was fucking, and that wasn’t exactly an appropriate form of contact with Kara. It wasn’t like Lillian overwhelmed her with hugs every time she visited. Gradually, though, she’s learned to melt into Kara’s embraces, to grow comfortable with the fact that Kara was just a touchy person, and sometimes, to even initiate the contact herself.

Drawing back from their hug, Kara adjusts her glasses nervously before asking, “Do you like… wanna dance?” At Lena’s arched eyebrows, Kara quickly adds, “You know, platonically.”

Lena just laughs at Kara’s panicked expression, before offering her arm, which Kara quickly takes, “Of course, I would love to.” Linking arms, the two make their way to the dance floor (and Lena ignores the laughs and not-so-quiet comments she hears coming from Alex and Winn).

At first their dancing just involves Kara’s goofy dance moves and Lena just laughing as she watching Kara’s uncoordinated moves. But that changes rather quickly, when the two girls just seem to gravitate closer and closer as the song goes on. Their dancing then turns markedly non-platonically, as Kara presses her back into Lena’s front, grinding slowly and their hands still intertwined to the beat of some club remix of a pop song. Lena finds she doesn’t have enough self-control to pull away, finding herself guilty of pushing herself closer to Kara. When the song ends and Kara detaches herself from Lena, a blush forming on her cheeks as she faces her, Lena can’t help but feel an immense feeling of loss. But they’re still so close together, Lena’s lips ghosting over Kara’s and it’s taking all of her self-control to not close the gap. In her mind, all she can think is _Kara, Kara, Kara,_ even Kara’s friends in the background fade away.

Before she can work up the nerve, Kara steps back, breaking the moment. “Can I get you a drink?” Kara asks, twiddling her thumbs aimlessly, avoiding eye contact.

“That would be great,” Lena just responds, her voice hollow and disappointed even though she doesn’t know why as she follows Kara toward the kitchen.

Kara grabs a bottle of vodka, and before Lena can register what she’s doing, Kara takes a deep swig, coughing as the liquid runs down her throat. “Are you okay?” Lena asks, concern obvious in her voice.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” Kara replies, closing her eyes in frustration, “I just… I think we need to talk.”

Lena doesn’t know much about friend interaction, but she’s relatively certain that the words “we need to talk” never lead to anything good. Swallowing her nerves, Lena just nods, “Okay, yeah. Where do you want to talk?”

Vodka bottle still in hand, Kara leads Lena back to her room, and now it’s just the two of them. Tears unshed in her eyes, Kara whispers, “I- I… can’t do this anymore,” and Lena almost breaks. She doesn’t want to lose Kara—she can’t lose the only friend that has ever seen _Lena,_ and not just _Luthor_. She realizes that she would be willing to do _anything_ to prevent losing Kara, to make her stay, and she knows one thing that makes people stay.

Without thinking, Lena takes off her shirt and moves to straddle Kara, pressing her lips onto hers. For a brief second, Kara responds, moving her lips urgently around Lena’s and holding Lena in her arms, before realizing what’s happening and the reason why Lena’s doing this, and then Kara’s pushing her away. “Stop,” Kara begs, voice breathless, “T-This isn’t what I want.”

Moving away from Kara and putting her shirt back on, Lena stares at the wall, before breaking the silence, her voice hoarse, “So what do you want?” She tries to sound as unemotional as possible, channeling the voice she uses in board rooms when talking to egotistical men twice her age, but clearly that doesn’t happen, because even she can hear the hurt and the pleading in her voice.

At this Kara is silent, as if trying to find the right words. “I—I want _you_ , Lena. I can’t just pretend that we’re friends, okay? I want something _real._ I don’t just want quick, meaningless hookups in which we pretend that nothing happened afterwards, I want to go on dates with you, kiss you on the mouth, and tell anyone who’s listening that I’m dating the most amazing woman. And that’s why I can’t keep on doing this. I care about you, Lena, _so, so much,_ but if we’re going to make this friendship work, I’m going to need space. I-I just need to get over you.”

Lena feels that her heart is shattering, and before she can think about the ramifications of her actions, she looks Kara right in the eyes, brushing away her tears with her hands. “What if I don’t want you to get over me?”

It’s clear that Kara’s trying not to appear hopeful at Lena’s words, and Lena has to make her understand. “I don’t think we were ever just strangers—or friends, for that matter. You’re so much more than that to me. And I’ve been really afraid to act on that. It was always just easier to push down my feelings and pretend you were just some meaningless hookup, but you’re not. You, Kara Danvers, you mean the absolute world to me.”

She watches the realization dawn over Kara’s face, and soon, Kara’s smiling and she’s touching Lena’s face reverently, “So does that mean I can kiss you?”

“Of course, you nerd,” Lena responds, laughing, and before she knows it, they’re kissing and as cliché as it is, Lena can’t help but feel like everything feels right again.

When they finally pull away, Kara fakes a look of indignation, “Says the nerd.”

Lena just shrugs, before playfully replying, “Well, it takes one to know one.”

“I feel like we’ve been doing everything backwards,” Kara wistfully ponders, leaning her head on Lena’s shoulder. At Lena’s confused look, she elaborates, “I mean, well, first we slept together, then went on breakfast dates and discussed our exes, and now we’re dating.”

“Dating?” Lena questions with a smirk.

Kara blushes, “Well, yeah, if that’s okay with you.”

“More than okay,” Lena can only respond with a wide smile, “Should we go back downstairs before they start making assumptions?”

At that, Kara only groans, before lifting her head from Lena’s shoulder and giving Lena a smirk that can only spell bad intentions, “I have a better idea.” And then Kara takes off her shirt and Lena’s truly a goner.

___

This time, when Lena wakes up, her body intertwined and naked against Kara’s, there’s no feeling of panic. Really, when Kara’s pressing light kisses on her shoulder and playing with her hair, Lena can only feel contentment. Frankly, she can’t help the wide smile that forms on her face.

Later that morning, they go to the same breakfast diner as their first night together, and this time, there’s no kale smoothie in sight.

 ( _“I can’t believe you forced me to order hashbrowns instead of kale,” Lena sighs. Kara only sticks out her tongue playfully, “You love me though.” “You’re right, I do,” Lena responds with a soft smile. Even Winn and James gagging in a booth behind them can’t stop the wide grins forming on both girls’ faces.)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> of course it had to go full circle :')  
> anyways hope you guys enjoyed reading this fic i'm mentally patting myself on the back for writing and finishing one of my longest short fics haha. let me know what you think down in the comments and come find me on tumblr [@luthorings](http://luthorings.tumblr.com)!

**Author's Note:**

> i probably won't be leaving it off here and there's definitely potential for more so let me know in the comments if you want to see this continued/what scenes you wanna see. lol i normally write such fluff so it only makes sense to make this a lil angsty. anyways thanks for reading and i hoped you enjoyed it 
> 
> come find me on tumblr at [@luthorings](http://luthorings.tumblr.com)


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